fishman Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Feel free to move this to another section, but I find this idea very interesting... http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk/how-it-works In essence, they are soliciting memberships (read: money) to allow them to buy a Football Club in England. Membership / ownership will provide some level of say in the functioning of the organization. MyFootballClub, which launched in May 2007, recently announced that they've agreed to buy a controlling stake in Ebbsfleet United FC, with the option to buy the the remaining share in the future. In less than three months, MyFootballClub signed up 50,000 people willing to pay a GBP 35 membership fee to buy and manage a soccer team with a crowd of other dedicated fans. MyFootballClub members will vote on player selection, transfers and all other major decisions. When it got down to picking a team to buy, MyFootballClub was approached by nine football club owners and also sought contact with several others. Some of the crowd's favorite clubs didn't make the cut, because they had too much debt or were too regional. One of the reasons for picking Ebbsfleet United is that it stands a good chance to reach the national Football League. Hmmm...Voyageurs buy an A-League team? MLS? The CSA? LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 ^ I like the way you think fishman, i've been dreaming about owning a sports franchise for years now. Now, for something like this to work i think we'd have to aim much lower, like PDL or even lower... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 quote:Originally posted by jpg75 i think we'd have to aim much lower My club opens the 8 match spring season in Vancouver's urban rec league tonight. 7 v 7, outdoor, mixed. We have sponsorship for registration fees, but if we could land one or two big name transfers (like any girl who can play) we could win the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footscray Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Buy Edmonton or Calgary's dormant A-League franchise rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone My club opens the 8 match spring season in Vancouver's urban rec league tonight. 7 v 7, outdoor, mixed. We have sponsorship for registration fees, but if we could land one or two big name transfers (like any girl who can play) we could win the league. How many studs-up slide tackles do you usually dish out in one of these games? [] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 How much would it cost to purchase a PDL franchise for Edmonton or Calgary? I'm in for $1,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue and White Army Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone My club opens the 8 match spring season in Vancouver's urban rec league tonight. 7 v 7, outdoor, mixed. Woah, I had no idea Vancouver had a mixed footie league. I played in a mixed footie grad school league out at UBC back in 2000-2001 and absolutely loved it. Thanks for the heads-up. Edit: looks like this league is out at UBC as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squid2 Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by masster How much would it cost to purchase a PDL franchise for Edmonton or Calgary? I'm in for $1,000. IIRC, the figure I was told is about $70,000 USD, before a coach is even hired, players signed, uniforms bought and of course a ball is even kicked. I spoke to Matt Weibe either in November of 2006 at the Super Y championships in Tampa or the NSCAA convention in January of 2007. Matt is the USL Franchise Director (he used to be the Super Y Director). The figure he shared with me (the $70k) included the base franchise fee of $50,000, a security bond of $15,000, and then an annual fee of about $5,000. All amounts USD. They do have a package that they will send out. He didn't have one with him and I didn't request one. Matt's info is Senior Director, Franchise Development matt.weibe@uslsoccer.com United Soccer Leagues 14497 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 201 Tampa FL 33618 Phone: 813.963.3909 ext 234 Fax: 813.963.3807 www.uslsoccer.com USL Franchise Information http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/franchise/index_E.html While attending the USYouth soccer coaches workshop in Pittsburgh this past February, I met a colleague who suggested that most PDL teams are losing money. But it's their respective affiliation with youth clubs that allow them to continue, year-after-year. I keep hearing $400,000 (USD) as the annual rule-of-thumb for a PDL season. I've got nothing to base this amount on other than hearsay so there is some due diligence required. I'd take a risk on a myfootballclub like concept. I'm in with masster, also at $1,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footscray Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by squid2 I keep hearing $400,000 (USD) as the annual rule-of-thumb for a PDL season. I've got nothing to base this amount on other than hearsay so there is some due diligence required. I'd take a risk on a myfootballclub like concept. I'm in with masster, also at $1,000. Do you think that 400k includes facility rentals as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Blue and White Army Woah, I had no idea Vancouver had a mixed footie league. I played in a mixed footie grad school league out at UBC back in 2000-2001 and absolutely loved it. Thanks for the heads-up. Edit: looks like this league is out at UBC as well. If you can show up sober you can walk straight into our starting 7! We have some difficulties last night and conceded nine. And our keeper was amazing. Like Craig Forrest against United. Ps. I'm dead serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 A pdl club could succeed in Edmonton or Calgary only if both cities have a team each. The danger in clunking down $70k on a limited revenue generating team though is that it will make no money whatsoever in case a USL Div 1 franchise moves in. Who's going to pay to watch PDL when there's USL action? In Alberta, the best bet is to get a team into the Alberta Major Soccer League and then push from the inside for the league to join up with the CSL and PCSL. Registration fees for EDSA Div 4 all the way up through Div 3, 2, 1, Premier and AMSL range between $1600 - $1800 per Outdoor season. Having said all this, I'd pony up $1,000 for a pdl team too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishman Posted May 8, 2008 Author Share Posted May 8, 2008 What is obvious is that it is workable if the supporters are (a) passionate and ( willing to put their money where their mouths are. Canada lacks professional playing opportunities for its developing players - that is so obvious it is painful. If some V-gers are serious about the $1K, and 400 footie fanatics could be rounded up, could it happen? We have all seen A-League teams fail in various markets - especially here in Alberta. Why? Well, we don't need to rehash the reasons why. But it seems like most of the people that visit this forum have good ideas on how to grow the game in Canada. And perhaps someone could get firmer figures on actual start-up and operating costs for a PDL or A-League team. Dare to dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N-A Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I like the idea of that owning a club outright would be interesting. I'm not sure if this idea below would work in Canada but I know it has helped certain clubs in England. Has anyone thought about investing into an existing club. As a 'Supporters Trust' Not sure if that would be possible or allowed. My local team did this in the 90's to support its team and help it out of debt problems. The Trust has shares and puts money into the club etc. Heres a link http://www.ntfctrust.co.uk/artman/publish/cat_index_23.shtml Take a look at the origins Part 1 and 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supporters%27_trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 quote:Has anyone thought about investing into an existing club. As a 'Supporters Trust' I've been following the Supporters Trust story since the creation of AFC Wimbledon and the idea has merit. My local team in the PCSL has been run by a not-for-profit society for years. I recently resigned from the board after ten years but we have an annual meeting and elect directors and provide the administration of the club in what is charitably called a third division in Canada. The Vancouver Whitecaps (nee 86ers) were essentially a supporters trust-style resurrection that was eventually bought out and now privately owned by one man. The idea of fan ownership is fantastic. The reality in Canada today is that it would be very unlikely to work and certainly would not be accepted as a an ownership group by MLS. I have often thought that the USL Div1 level could possibly be made to work but finding enough people to make it work is a challenge. It has always been much easier to find one person with $1m than organizing 1,000 people for $1,000 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I actually have a copy of the USL new franchise package for all levels of competition that they offer (USL1, USL2, PDL, etc...) When i get back into Canada from the business trip I'm on, I'll post the info. i too would be in for a $1000.00 I do believe selling shares at 1000 shares at $1000.00 each would actually be quite easy if organized properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 We're at $4,000.00 masster, squid2, River City, VPjr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 only 996 more to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 Count me in for a G note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 Me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 6 down, 994 to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footscray Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 I'm in. I think that the facility is the keystone even moreso than the city though, I'd like the club to own a piece of land for a start even if that means a cowshed and PDL in a city like Winnipeg where land is cheap as opposed to Calgary where the facilities on offer suck and land is expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squid2 Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 quote:Originally posted by VPjr 6 down, 994 to go Dino, with you and I in, I think Stephen will also want in, so he's 1 more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Footscray I'm in. I think that the facility is the keystone even moreso than the city though, I'd like the club to own a piece of land for a start even if that means a cowshed and PDL in a city like Winnipeg where land is cheap as opposed to Calgary where the facilities on offer suck and land is expensive. Whoaah... slow down their cowboy. The wrong sort of land is cheap in Winnipeg. No doubt about that. Not so sure about the sort you'd want. By the by, will be getting a look at WSC II next week. See how it's coming along. Might be a decent (FieldTurf) venue for a small club. Don't think PDL would fly in Winnipeg. Season is too short, quality not superior enough to attract any sort of ticket buying fan base. That being said, I could be parted from some of my beer money for a scheme like this. Hell, I mostly make my own beer anyway. My surplus beer budget just ends up being spent on stoopid stuff anyway. So why not this? I ain't that broke yet. Neat scheme. Raising a million would absolutely be the easiest part of the venture me-thinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesW Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 You guys are all mad. Keep dreaming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 quote:Originally posted by masster How much would it cost to purchase a PDL franchise for Edmonton or Calgary? I'm in for $1,000. When I started with my initial $1,000 offer, I was half joking. But with every other V that has followed I become less and less skeptical. The difference between this and the My Football Club group though is that they took over an existing franchise. Ours would involve an expanssion franchise. Big difference. I'm still in for $1,000. Whats the name of the club? Voyageurs United? Should we start a new thread about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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